Any Time Is Story Time

This animated short about literacy introduces us to Meena, a young girl who hates books even though her parents love to read. Books are everywhere in Meena's house, in cupboards, drawers and even piled up on the stairs. Still, she refuses to even open one up. But when her cat Max accidentally knocks down a huge stack, pandemonium ensues and nothing is ever the same again.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

Following Fiona Garrick in her print shop, this short film reveals the story behind the creation of a children's book. Whether writing, engraving, mixing ink colours, operating a 100-year-old printing press or hand binding, she treats every aspect of bookmaking with extraordinary skill and craft. In the era of superstores and media conglomerates, Garrick takes us along on a special journey of careful, contemplative creation.

This animated short for children tells the story of Christopher, a little boy who didn't want to be called Christopher anymore. Such a common name! When Aunty Gail from Trinidad tells him a story about a Tiger, Christopher changes his name to Tiger. But then he finds a better name. When he has trouble cashing a birthday cheque, he realizes maybe he should stick with his original name... or maybe not?

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

This short animated film stars Christopher, a terrific kid with one major problem… he's messy! His shoes smell funky, his fish bowl stinks, and even the cockroaches can't stand it. In the chaos of Christopher's room, his fish rise up from their scummy bowl in protest. They enlist the help of a fastidious cockroach. Together, the fish and the roaches hatch a plan that will change Christopher's life and his cleaning habits forever.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

This animated short, based on the book by Rachna Gilmore, is the story of Gita, an 8-year-old girl who can't wait to celebrate Divali - the Hindu festival of lights - in her new home in Canada. But it's nothing like New Delhi, where she comes from. The weather is cold and grey and a terrible ice storm cuts off the power, ruining her plans for a party. Obviously, a Divali celebration now is impossible. Or is it? As Gita experiences the glittering beauty of the icy streets outside, the traditional festival of lights comes alive in a sparkling new way.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

This animated short tells the story of Anansi, a little spider who is tired of being snubbed by other the jungle animals, especially Mr. Tiger. As Anansi plots and schemes to change things, he realizes he can't gain respect by putting others down.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

This short animation is a colourful introduction to the Korean alphabet. The film, which marries visuals by Kim In Tae, a young Korean filmmaker training in the NFB’s Animation Studio, and synthetic sound by Norman McLaren, was made to teach the alphabet to Korean children, but its slick graphics and modern soundtrack will appeal to anyone.

This animated short tells the story of Kwan Ming, a man who left China to live and work in the New World. Once at destination, Kwan Ming and three traveling companions look for work but find nothing. When opportunities finally arise, Kwan Ming lets his friends have the best jobs and takes a lowly position as helper to a mean storeowner. But his generosity pays off when his friends help him with a very difficult task.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

In this animated short by Sheldon Cohen, young May wants a dog more than anything else in the world. She thinks about dogs all the time; she talks about them, reads about them and covers the walls of her bedroom with dog pictures. But every time she asks her parents for a puppy, they tell her to wait till she's older. But sticking to her motto of "If at first you don’t succeed, try again," May comes up with an ingenious idea to change her parents' minds. Based on the book by Dayal Kaur Khalsa.

This short animation based on a popular children's story by Robert Munsch tells the story of a young boy with a major problem: his apartment has become a subway station but his mother doesn't believe him and blames him for the commuters' mess. Jonathan takes his problem to City Hall and gets his first look at what bureaucratic bungling is all about.

Winner of over 35 international awards, Hedgehog's Home is an animated film by Eva Cvijanović. Based on the classic story by Branko Ćopić, a writer from the former Yugoslavia, it is a warm and universal tale that reminds us there truly is no place like home.